Seoul: The South Korean military on Monday said that Pyongyang is presumed to be operating a regiment-level biochemical weapons unit.


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The Ministry of National Defence said North Korea is operating production facilities for chemical and biological weapons, and has a stockpile of such materials that can be used in any attack, Yonhap News Agency reported.


The military said it plans to bolster its detection capabilities against North Korea`s possible biochemical provocation.


South Korea has also decided to raise its voice against North Korea`s biochemical weapons when nuclear envoys from Seoul, the US and Japan meet in Washington on Monday.


The decision comes in the wake of Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, death on February 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur after apparently being poisoned by two Asian women. 


Malaysian police named eight North Koreans, including a diplomat, as suspects, though Pyongyang denies its involvement.


Kim Jong-nam was killed with a VX nerve agent. VX is listed as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN and its use is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), to which North Korea is not a signatory.